Scott v. Clanton
| Decision Date | 23 June 2003 |
| Docket Number | No. 25140.,25140. |
| Citation | 113 S.W.3d 207 |
| Parties | Glen Walter SCOTT, Appellant, v. Cynthia Lynn (Scott) CLANTON, Respondent, and Darcy Suzanne Scott, Respondent. |
| Court | Missouri Court of Appeals |
John A. Lewright, of Cassville, for Appellant.
Janet Garrett, of Aurora, for Respondent.
Respondent, Darcy Suzanne Scott ("Child"), filed an amended third-party motion for contempt against Appellant, Glen Walter Scott ("Father"), alleging Father's failure to pay court-ordered child support while Child attended college. In his answer, Father set out that Child had failed to properly plead that she had complied with the requirement of supplying Father with certain "papers" showing proof of college attendance as required by section 452.340.5, RSMo 2000.1 Accordingly Father maintained he owed Child no support due to her failure to comply with the foregoing statutory reporting requirements.
In its judgment, the circuit court determined that while Child had not timely sent Father the documentation required by statute, Father had nevertheless, "waived or [was] estopped" from asserting the lack of documentation defense by tardily asserting this defense. As more fully explained herein, the circuit court found Father in civil contempt for his failure to make child support payments as ordered in its prior judgment modifying the original dissolution of marriage decree, and ordered Father's commitment to the county jail.
To simplify discussion of the matters involved in this appeal, the following timeline provides relevant dates as outlined by the record and the parties' testimony:
August 18, 1978—Child was born to Father and Cynthia Lynn Clanton ("Mother").
September 17, 1981—Father and Mother's marriage was dissolved by the Circuit Court of Barry County. Mother was awarded principal care and custody of Child, and Father was ordered to pay $150 per month for child support.
May 1996—Child graduated high school.
August 18, 1996—Child turned 18 years of age and, having graduated from high school, commenced college as a full-time student at LaBette Community College, where, as Child testified, she remained for two years. She then transferred to Pittsburg State University.
March 19, 1997—Mother moved to modify the decree of dissolution of marriage, and requested additional child support to cover expenses related to Child's college education and support.
February 13, 1998—The Circuit Court of Barry County modified the original dissolution of marriage judgment and ordered child support payments to be made directly to Child. On May 28, 1998, the court further modified the judgment and ordered Father, inter alia, to pay $650 per month child support, retroactive to December 10, 1997.
Father continued to pay $150 per month in child support.
September 2, 1998—Father moved to modify the child support obligation, citing a change in income.
October 7, 1998—Mother moved for an order of contempt for Father's failure to pay the full amount of child support and attorney fees, as ordered by the modification judgment entered February 13, 1998.
October 22, 1998—In his answer to Mother's motion for contempt, Father admitted that he was ordered to pay $650 in child support and had not done so, but denied that he willfully failed and refused to do so or that he had the ability to pay the child support.
March 18, 2000—Child provided Father with a transcript of grades.
August 12, 2000—Child provided Father with a transcript of grades from the Summer 2000 semester.
August 18, 2000—Child turned 22 years of age.
July 2001—Child graduated from college.
January 16, 2002—Court allowed Child to enter case as a third-party movant.
January 18, 2002—Child, acting as a third-party movant, filed an amended motion for contempt alleging inter alia Father's continuing failure to pay child support. Child requested $17,139 for unpaid child support.
January 25, 2002—In his answer to Child's amended motion for contempt, Father claimed that he had fully paid all support due Child and/or Mother. Father also asserted that Child had failed to "properly" plead her motion for contempt, in that Child failed to set out she had given Father notice of her college attendance in compliance with the statutory requirements forth in section 452.340.5.
February 5, 2002—The Circuit Court of Lawrence County heard the motion for contempt.2 At that time, the Circuit Court also dismissed, at his request, Father's September 2, 1998 motion to modify his child support obligation.
March 30, 2002—The parties submitted briefs relating to their respective positions at trial.
In its judgment of May 9, 2002, the Circuit Court of Lawrence County found that Child had not provided Father with the documentation required by section 452.340.5 "until March or August 2000." It further found there "was no evidence that the Father furnished any monetary support [for Child] except for the $150.00 monthly support paid by [Father]." However, the circuit court also found that Father, as the party seeking the abatement of his child support obligation, had the burden of proof on that issue and must have properly pled the elements of that defense. The circuit court noted that Father had not raised his defense based on Child's failure to provide documentation of college attendance until November 21, 2000, when he filed a stipulation of facts and arguments. The circuit court further determined that Father's "action or inaction under the present facts do not entitle him to abatement" because of his failure to timely assert that Child had not provided the documentation required under section 452.340.5 and that Father had "waived or [was] estopped from now asserting this defense."
As previously set out, the circuit court found Father in civil contempt and ordered him to pay to Child the sum of $17,139, together with interest, and ordered Father's commitment to the county jail, but stayed Father's commitment to allow him opportunity to purge himself of the contempt. When the contempt was not purged by July 30, 2002, the circuit court subsequently issued a Warrant and Commitment Order. Father appealed raising two points of circuit court error.
In Point One, Father alleges circuit court error "when it found that [Child] had made a prima facie case for contempt without first alleging in her motion for contempt that she had complied with all sections of 452.340.5." In his second point, Father premises circuit court error on its finding that he "was estopped from asserting [Child's] failure to comply with section 452.340.5."
In civil non-jury cases, we shall affirm the trial court's decision unless that decision is not supported by substantial evidence, is against the weight of the evidence, or erroneously declares or applies the law. Murphy v. Carron, 536 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Mo. banc 1976); Mandel v. Eagleton, 90 S.W.3d 527, 530 (Mo.App.2002). Under that standard, we will affirm the trial court's judgment unless there is no substantial evidence to support it, it is against the weight of the evidence, or it erroneously declares or applies the law. Murphy, 536 S.W.2d at 32; see also Rogers v. Rogers, 87 S.W.3d 368, 371 (Mo.App. 2002).
In our review of Father's first point, we first observe that "[t]he function of pleadings is to present, define, and isolate the issues in controversy in order to advise the trial court and the parties of the issues to be tried and to expedite the trial of a cause on its merits." Bank of America, N.A. v. Stevens, 83 S.W.3d 47, 56 (Mo.App.2002); see also Memco, Inc., v. Chronister, 27 S.W.3d 871, 875-76 (Mo. App.2000). A pleading is sufficient so long as it "invokes principles of substantive law which entitle the [pleader] to relief and informs the defendant of what the [pleader] will attempt to establish at trial." Bryant v. Price, 893 S.W.2d 856, 858 (Mo. App.1995); see § 509.050.1; Rule 55.05.3
Here, Child filed a third-party "amended motion for contempt," seeking inter alia to compel Father's obedience to a court order directing Father to pay $650 per month in child support. "A prima facie case for civil contempt is established when the party alleging contempt proves: (1) the contemnor's obligation to pay a specific amount or perform an action as required by the decree; and (2) the contemnor's failure to meet the obligation." In re Marriage of Earls, 77 S.W.3d 741, 743 (Mo.App.2002); Lyons v. Sloop, 40 S.W.3d 1, 10-11 (Mo.App.2001); see State ex rel. Heiserman v. Heiserman, 941 S.W.2d 768, 770-71 (Mo.App.1997). In her third-party amended motion for contempt, Child set forth Father's obligation to pay a specific amount, i.e., that on May 28, 1998, the Circuit Court of Barry County ordered Father to pay $650 per month in child support, retroactive to December 10, 1997. Child also pled that Father failed to comply with this court-ordered obligation. These pleadings, when proved, were sufficient to establish a prima facie case for civil contempt. See Earls, 77 S.W.3d at 743; Lyons, 40 S.W.3d at 10-11.
While Father correctly set out that Child must meet certain statutory criteria to remain eligible for continued support, he points to no authority that shows Child, as the party seeking relief, must first have asserted that she had complied with the reporting requirements set forth in section 452.340.5.4 Case law teaches that Father as the party seeking to abate his child support obligation, bears the burden of raising this defense. "A party seeking abatement of his or her child support obligation based on § 452.340 provisions bears the burden of proof on that claim." Harris v. Parman, 54 S.W.3d 679, 684 (Mo. App.2001).
Furthermore, by placing the burden of pleading this defense upon Father, we remain consistent with the well-established principle that a party, when pleading an action, is not required to anticipate and negate the defenses raised by a defendant:
[T]he general rule, both under the common-law practice and under modern...
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